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culture, faith, hysteria, insanitybytes22, mediated reality, opinion, politics, rants
Our words have tremendous power, they can heal or they can destroy. They can even radicalize people or incite a riot. By far the worse offenders in recent memory are the mainstream media. Those guys are all about creating drama and getting people all riled up. It doesn’t even matter if it’s true or not, the goal is to create excitement. They are being extremely irresponsible with their words.
Facebook and social media are another offender, they also use words to create drama, excitement, and fear. Then there are individual bloggers who also traffic in hyperbole, often around themes of racism, conspiracy theories, the collapse of civilization.
Let me also give a dishonorable mention to the Seattle Public School system that is now leading children on a protest against the presidential inauguration since the election has allegedly been stolen and democracy has now collapsed.
And there is some Christian leadership that has really dropped the ball too, in my opinion. “Let not your heart be troubled,” versus, “be afraid, be very afraid.” Not good.
I’m a huge fan of free speech, but with freedom comes responsibility. So in my view it is just flat-out wrong, immoral, to use words to spread fear, panic, and hysteria.
Anybody remember War of The Worlds? In 1938, the tale was presented on the radio in it’s breaking news format and some people were unable to discern fiction from reality. There were some pockets of hysteria and panic because a few people really believed the Martians had landed and invaded. Later episodes, including television, had a disclaimer running so as to prevent panic in the streets.
In the “olden days” we had a sense of moral responsibility, men’s honor and integrity lead us to hold some principles dear, like you don’t frighten the woman and children, you don’t create fear and panic in the streets, you don’t throw civilization into chaos. These are such quaint notions today they almost sound funny. Today we practically worship fear mongering and enjoy trying to sow chaos.
Myself, it’s not a political issue, as in I don’t care what side you’re on. You could be some anarchist hoping to inspire panic and fear over an alien invasion. It’s not the politics, it’s the behavior, the irresponsibility with our words, the attempts to radicalize people, the desire to sow chaos.
Much like that 1938 episode of War of the Worlds, the number of people who actually fall headfirst into your hyperbole may be small, but it’s still not okay, it’s still wrong, it’s still immoral. The fact that a million people read your words and only one set themselves on fire or only one shot up a church or only one is now facing rape charges, is not an excuse.
There is blood on your hands, that simple.
Naturally I can’t fix it all, nor do I want to pass laws, nor do I want to attack individuals. (Well, 2 or 3 I would really enjoy smacking upside the head, but that’s beside the point.) What I really want is for us to just start taking some responsibility for the words we write and paying attention to what kind of message we’re sending.
Seattle Public School kids, those who have surrendered their critical thinking skills anyway, now probably believe we’re living in a post apocalyptic colony of dystopian refugees and that democracy has completely collapsed and we’ve been invaded by Russian trolls.
As you think, so go you. We create our own little subjective worlds and behave accordingly.
Some of us are pretty level headed, but then there are the kids who don’t really have wisdom and experience yet, there are the broken and wounded, some mentally ill, others isolated and unable to discern, and there are also paid provocateurs. We all have a responsibility to use our words to sow some calm, some order, and some peace in the world. That stuff matters and it can save lives.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
*Sigh…I hear ya IB! The brain-dirtying that is going on in the public schools today makes me ill. I shake my head in disbelief over every crazy, leftist, ignorant idea that is being forced into the minds of students. The parents who see fit (and can afford it, of course) to homeschool their children will have such children become adults that don’t end up in the raging anarchists and/or the sad and ignorant snowflake categories in life.
Thank you for visiting my blog and “liking” my recent post, “What is Stored Up in You?” We were on a similar “wave length” regarding blogging topics today.
Have to share a brief story. As I was checking out at Vons grocery store yesterday, the young woman who was bagging my groceries asked me three different times, “do you need help out?” I politely answered her each time and said, “no thank you.” After she finished bagging my groceries and putting them into my cart, she went over to the next counter to bag for another customer. The check-out lady apologized and said, “she is one of our special needs helpers.” I said back to her, “yes, I figured that out after she asked me the same question the third time.” I also said, “no need to apologize. I think it’s wonderful that Vons chooses to employ individuals like her.”
When I looked at my groceries in my cart, there were several items placed in the cart without a bag, and half filled bags. There was even one empty bag. I smiled to myself thinking how I might have complained (silently to myself) if she was a “regular” employee. I chuckled and smiled again as I repackaged my groceries before I put them in my car. It reminded me how silly it often is to get angry over the “little things” and “annoyances” in life. We all do that from time to time.
Your post reminds me that the big things in life DO MATTER…a LOT! What we do to help counter even those things that can be huge challenges (like you wrote, “We all have a responsibility to use our words to sow some calm, some order, and some peace in the world. That stuff matters and it can save lives”) is great advice! Thanks so much for this wonderful, very important post!
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Amen, well said! Don’t sweat the small stuff. 🙂
I always find it so ironic, in social work the first thing we do with a lot of people who are depressed, underemployed, stressed out…is put them on disability, declare them unable to work! The first thing we do with people who are actually disabled…is find them a job! They need to earn some money, feel good about themselves, have a place to belong. That contradiction just drives me nuts.
Thanks for you post today. We are on a similar wavelength 🙂
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Total and complete off-topic aside: I’m so jealous that you are getting grocery bags because they’ve been outlawed in California. But that’s a small thing, I suppose. It doesn’t feel so small always, I have to admit!
Becky
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I live in CA too, so I carry a dozen reusable bags in my car! I got used to it because I often shop at “Sprouts.” They sell nice (and big) insulated reusable bags. It’s my husband who often “pays the price” to buy bags each time he stops at the store. We have a supply of them now in our garage – LOL
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I carry a bunch in my car, but I keep forgetting to take them in. But my biggest beef is that I used them to line my trash cans. Now I either have to wash out trash cans or BUY plastic bags to throw away. It’s an irritant. But yes, of the minor sort. If it just weren’t so daily! 😦
Becky
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a double sigh as I echo the feelings of the commentator above…
the key word being ‘irresponsibility”
we are living in a society that has all but abandoned responsible and rational thinking and living…
And shame on the Seattle Public School System for deciding upon itself to casually dismiss the democratic process and taking an audience that is at their mercy and whim, as in captive and incapable of escape, and indoctrinating them with utter nonsense and falsehoods….
the epitome of irresponsibility by a group of adults charged with the very core of responsibility….
Your post is just one more reminder that our prayers must remain in earnest….
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I imagine that the Seattle Public School System has failed to teach their children that we live in a republic with representatives, not a direct democracy. We never have had a strictly democratic government, and the way the world is going, it’s easy to see why the framers of our Constitution decided a republic is best.
But I wonder if we re-framed the question: since only 17 states voted against Mr. Trump, isn’t it clear that the majority of the nation prefers his presidency over Sec. Clinton’s? In some ways were back to the “small states versus the large states” discussion that accompanied the creation of the Constitution.
Becky
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Excellent observation Becky—as it is now rather humors to the irony found in those wanting to abolish the electoral college…
had it been the other way around…there would be no discussion…..
It seems as if many of those in our educational systems could do with a bit of “re”educating especially in the area of American History and Civics!!!
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So true!
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And forgive the typo “humorous” 🤓
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Sadly, a recent conversation I was engaged in at my grand-daughters soft-ball game was overheard and interrupted by a very disgruntled public school teacher who was devastated by the results of the recent election.
She was quite fearful of losing “everything she’d worked for her entire life” (all of 26 years) because she bought into the propaganda the media (and her teacher’s union) had pressed. My companion and I employed sincere empathy without pointing out the err of the fear-mongering. Simply attempting to soothe her, not debate her ideology.
She calmed down a bit and even apologized for “butting in”, but then began preaching about all the “defective” votes the Russian interference created, and how Trump is satan. This drew a small crowd, who felt it necessary to protest the election by verbalizing support for her ‘speech’!
These were people I had formerly enjoyed very courteous and friendly ‘small-talk’ with many times for several seasons of soft-ball games we shared on the park bleachers. Suddenly, I was surrounded by three protesters who were more into their ranting than the game their children were playing! Thankfully, the authorities (the umpires paid by the sports association) quieted them, reminding them that such commotion was outlawed by the rule-book.
Calling Trump evil, they praised Castro and Che Guevara as ‘noble’ revolutionaries and likened them to our founding fathers who opposed the king of England! Theyprfessed a very different version of American history, citing erroneous conceptions of democracy and disgust for republicans, conservatives, and religious minded ‘idiots’ actually calling ‘good’ ‘evil’ and visa-versa.
My grand-daughter’s team won, but the protesters didn’t even applaud – so focused on their ‘mission’, while the ‘silent majority’ returned to their vehicles shaking their heads in disbelief. when my grand-daughter asked what THAT was all about, she simply shrugged her shoulders and said, “yeah that’s what all my teachers think”.
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It’s so sad. And then these same people fight tooth and nail to prevent school choice and wonder why anyone would “abandon” the public school system. This is the same school system that, here in California at least, does not allow school officials to dispense aspirin but will allow them to take a young girl for an abortion. And they wonder why we don’t want to trust our children to them.
Their thinking isn’t straight. They don’t tell the truth. And yet they want to be the only voice our children listen to.
Becky
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Amen, I too reside in California, but thankfully within Orange County where the Deep Blue doesn’t rule in majority. We’re still ‘Reagan Country’ and proud of it.
What do you think of Governor Brown’s signing into law the decriminalization of child prostitution?
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oh for the days of Reagan!!!
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Becky – The claim that Clinton ‘won’ the popular vote isn’t even accurate. Taking the final reports of the recounted vote tally (the one that Clinton’s campaign uses to press the issue) Hillary received 48%, Trump = 46%, leaving 6% of the total votes going to NEITHER Clinton or Trump. When those 6% are added to Trump’s 46% = 52% actually voted AGAINST Clinton!
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The way the Canadian media talks here, it seems that we’re just as much in danger of Trump’s leadership as America is. Because, you know, it’s not like borders are a thing, or national sovereignty, or the fact that Canada’s political climate, even on the “conservative” side, is vastly different from the U.S. I have friends feverishly reblogging articles about Trump like their lives are on the line, an idea they may very well believe. And I’m sitting here thinking, uhh, hello? We’re about to be hit with some devastating carbon taxes and our hydro bills are through the roof, but you’re worried about leadership in another country? *sigh*
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Ha! I hear you. I’ve had a few Canadians yell at me. I had a chuckle the other day wondering if it was Trump they really feared…or all the hysterical and panicked people now threatening to move to Canada? ‘Cause a mass American immigration to Canada would kind of scare me, too!
It’s a shame though, there are some younger people I know who are just panicked, totally buying into a bunch of fear mongering, and needlessly upset. They won’t really listen to me though. It’s kind of tragic because some of us have seen a lot of elections and a lot of political scandals. We’re pretty good at knowing when it’s time to panic and when it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. 🙂
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I suppose you’re right, hysterical mass-immigration should be a concern. But there are enough hysterical folks here that I’m not sure how much of a difference it would make. 😉
It really is sad that my fellow millenials are more fearful than most generations now. We’re supposed to be the optimists and have that special hope that comes with being young, when everything is new and exciting. I really hate how the fear-mongering of the media is stealing that from us. We should either be questioning it or ignoring it, or both. In any case, I pray that we can come to rely more on the wisdom of our parents, older adults and elders.
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Just curious, how is the Seattle Public School system “leading children on a protest?”
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Primarily by their leadership and behavior, by having the city council pressuring them to allow students to walk out, by making sure there’s a police escort for those who do.
Some five thousand students marched out in protest against the election itself, many of them middle schoolers.
We can say the kids just decided this stuff all on their own, but they are kids, they respond to the behavior and response modeled by the adults all around them.
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David:
It’s being instigated by the Seattle City Council with sort of a wink-and-a-nod from the Seattle Public School system. Here’s a link to the Seattle media story:
http://komonews.com/news/local/parents-and-councilmember-at-odds-with-school-district-about-friday-protest
Seattle’s political establishment is probably the most Left-Wing in the country; even more so than the SF Bay Area, if that were possible. I don’t even mean ‘Liberal’ here; I mean hardcore Leftist. Kshawma Sawant, the Councilwoman mentioned here is an outright Communist who actually said during her campaign that the City should seize Boeing and convert it to manufacturing local busses and commuter-trains. Mayor Murray, though nominally a Democrat, isn’t far behind on his radicalism. He actually led anti-Election protests in November.
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It looks to me like we have one member of the council pressuring the schools to excuse absences, but the schools are saying no to this. That does not seem consistent with the statement that the school system is “leading children on a protest.”
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The sense I get from the media accounts is that it’s more than one person pressuring the School District which can’t—for legal or policy reasons—excuse the absences. Most likely the School District simply won’t enforce their policy.
Politics aside, we’re all aware that people of middle/high school age don’t typically need much encouragement to skip school. The school can’t realistically punish everybody. IOW, I think this is just a publicity stunt concocted by Sawant and Murray, with several accomplices among the Seattle Establishment. The headlines tomorrow will read ‘Hundreds of Students Walk Out in Protest’ although probably 4/5 of the absent students won’t be anywhere near a demonstration.
You have to remember that Seattle politics is symbiotic. There’s really no political opposition at any leadership level in the government, media, courts, police department, schools—or anywhere. It’s just varying degrees of Leftism. We’re talking here about a city where Jill Stein actually got more votes than Trump in the election.
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“The sense you get from media reports” is a little vague. It would be better if we had something fact-based here.
The statement that I was questioning stated that the school system was “leading children on a protest.” Not the “Seattle Establishment,” the school system. I’m sorry, but the data are not consistent was the statement that the school system is “leading” here. Whether or not the school system will enforce the policy remains to be seen, but even the absence of enforcement of an attendance policy is not exactly “leading” a protest.
Frankly, when I first read IB’s statement, I was expecting to read that the school system had declared that schools had been closed so that kids could protest. Now THAT would be leading. I really was expecting much more than what is actually happening. Instead, for whatever reason, the school system has stated that any absences due to protesting will not be excused. That is a long way from “leading.”
Politics is always “symbolic.” But what is the school system actually doing in the non-symbolic world?
Now, I do agree that kids don’t need much of an excuse to skip school. So, there we can agree.
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Thanks for the link. One thing to look forward to with Trump is that his Secretary of Education nominee is a huge proponent of alternatives to the Public Education Establishment.
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The school system had the city council pressure the school system to allow students to walk out? The school system pressured the council to pressure the schools?
The school system now controls the police department? Doesn’t it just make good sense to have a police presence to keep an eye on wandering middle schoolers?
Has the school system declared that there will be no academic penalties or consequences if student skip school tomorrow to protest?
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David, it’s often very difficult for me to explain to you what I am witnessing because first of all, you’re invested in not believing anything I say, and second of all,you are never able to see cause and effect. From past conversations I know I could probably present you with something like a video tape of kids being forced to march and gun point and you would say, “So,nobody made them go to school that day, they must have wanted to march.”
I’m not trying to pick on you or even to say you’re wrong, I’m just saying you’ve blocked communication and rendered my efforts futile before I’ve even begun.
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I’ve blocked communication? Is that what you call it when someone disagrees with you? So, this is all my fault, right? Hey, if you to blame me when you can’t support what you stated, that’s your choice.
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Not at all David, nor do I blame you.
It’s just that I know you are not actually trying to communicate or understand, you are just trying to prove me wrong. From past experience, I know I’m going to be wrong no matter what evidence I present.
That’s called blocking communication. I’m not blaming you, I’m just forfeiting that particular game and letting you have your win. I’m usually far more interested in conversation than I am in conquest.
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Sorry, should read “if you want to blame me.”
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You know you’re going to be wrong no matter what evidence you present? Could you provide an example of this from a past exchange?
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LOL, No. Because I’m already wrong no matter what I present and you’re now arguing against the idea that you always demand proof…by demanding proof that you’re always arguing.
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Nice! Now you have a full-proof rationale for not providing proof! You never have to support your claims because…I asked you to support your claims! It’s perfect!
You know, it seems to me that during our exchanges you’ve always worked pretty hard to prove that I’M wrong. I don’t recall many occasions when you were bowled over by MY evidence.
Regardless, it didn’t occur to me that you were “blocking communication” when you disagreed with me. But I guess I was wrong about that. (See, I can admit when I’m wrong!)
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“Now you have a full-proof rationale for not providing proof!”
I have always had a fool proof rationale, David. I’m simply not required to. I’m not writing a legal brief or preparing a peer reviewed science paper.
Just out of curiosity, do you ever demand such things from those who actually get paid to report the news, like CNN for example?
“You know, it seems to me that during our exchanges you’ve always worked pretty hard to prove that I’M wrong.”
Nope. I haven’t worked hard at it at all. I’m also not the least bit concerned about you being wrong. (The denying God thing bothers me a bit, but whatever, that’s not my call.)
I pretty much talk to you sometimes because I enjoy it, not because I’m trying to prove anything.
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I agree that you’re not require to provide anything. So, I suppose that’s that.
(And yes, I expect CNN, et al., to be able to back up what they report. I don’t expect any human institution to be flawless, but I do expect quality news outlet to work hard to get it right.).
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Indeed, our words have tremendous power, and they can spread health or affliction, success or failure,. That’s where responsibility comes in. Even though we’re free to speak and would like to enjoy our freedom of speech, it’s important to carefully choose the outcome of our words. To do this, we could honestly ask ourselves this question: what do I want to spread through my words? The answer to this question will determine the kind of words we’d use.
Thanks a lot. You’re deeply loved, highly favoured and greatly blessed. http://www.ncrealities.wordpress.com
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Thank you for reading and for your kind words. 🙂
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There is no way to have a conversation about this with someone opposed to Trump nowadays. They throw out a story, claim it accurate, and when told there is evidence to the contrary, they say “switching topics”.
That Meryl Streep comment about how Trump attacked a vulnerable man is bizarre considering that a) Trump does that hand flappy thing when stating he thinks someone is stupid–Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were also given the hand-flappy thing as well, b) Sergei Kovaleski publishes for the NY Times which means he has huge evidence on what the world believes and is probably in upper-middle to lower-upper class, and c) when you’re a journalist, you are that because you can take verbal abuse…
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“…when you’re a journalist, you are that because you can take verbal abuse…”
Ahhh. Maybe it should be mandatory for all journalists to spend some time as bloggers. Verbal abuse is pretty much a way of life. 🙂
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Pretty much. Or maybe Meryl Streep should get more in touch with the reality that next to politicians, journalists and celebrities are the most powerful people in the world.
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Ha ha, IB!
I just saw this article you’d LOVE!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/19/hard-luck-hillary-clinton-s-second-case-of-the-inaugural-blues.html
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You are indeed level-headed! And an awesome blogger. Thanks.
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